The Castle Chronicles - Before The Storm
by MajestyQueenK
Summary: When the Next Generation arrives in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they thought that making through their 6th year was all they had to worry about. Can friendships turn into something more? Can old foes put their past behind? Are they ready to face enemies even their parents couldn't face? This is the first installment of "The Castle Chronicles". MATURE CONTENT
1. Scorpius

Chapter 1- Scorpius

Scorpius Malfoy did not grow up to be a nice man. He found the description rather insulting, in fact. People who were taken as 'nice' had usually no other distinguishing traits and were, therefore, quite boring in his opinion.

He was a very complex individual and he took pride in that. His interests were very peculiar and he had no time for people who did not aspire to be more than simply, well, average. And that is precisely why he wanted to gauge both of his eyeballs out if he had to listen to Torrance Le Marc's annoying, high-pitched voice for one more second.

He politely smiled once more at her and watched her light blue eyes twinkle. She took the gesture as an encouragement for her to keep telling him about the 'beautiful gown she got for the Beauxbatons ball this Fall' when in fact, it was more of a 'kill me now' smile.

Scorpius found Torrance to be perfectly nice, just as his Mother had described when she introduced them an hour ago but, unfortunately, her 'nice' tone was incredibly boring and futile, if not a little spoiled.

"… You should definitely come visit us in France this Summer, I'll be more than happy to show you around our gardens." She stated flashing him her best smile, making sure he saw her oversized breasts as she pushed her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"That sounds lovely but, unfortunately, my family already has plans of traveling to Greece this Summer." He said, relieved that his Father has decided to make him learn all about the Greek branch of the family business.

"Such pity, Scorpy… I was really looking forward to spending more time with you." He watched her eyes sadden and her thin lips form into a pout that was supposed to be sexy. Scorpius cringed at her use of his nickname and desperately looked around the room for a possible saviour from such a terrible conversation.

The room was filled with the high 'Pureblood elite' as his Grandfather put it, wizards and witches from around Europe that were acquaintances of his family. Scorpius knew very well the reason for this boisterous and unnecessary party, even if his Grandmother tried to deny it. These were gatherings meant to set the young Pureblood suitors up with other acceptable families and, Scorpius wanted nothing to do with it.

He caught Julius Görnert's eye across the room and hoped that even if they weren't exactly friends at Hogwarts, he would take pity upon his soul and try to strike up a conversation. Julius was originally from Germany and him and his brother attended Hogwarts even though his family still lived in Wizarding Frankfurt. Both were in Ravenclaw with Julius starting sixth-year with Scorpius and Jürgen, his older brother, in seventh-year now.

"Scorpius! Glad I found you, your Mother has been looking for you everywhere!" He turned around to meet with Cassandra Sakalis' big blue eyes. He sighed in relief.

"Of course, where did you last see her?"

"Right around the garden, I'll take you there if you'd like." She smiled innocently but her eyes sparkled with knowing mischief.

"Thank you. I apologize Torrance but, I will have to leave you. Hopefully we shall see each other soon." Scorpius said as he nodded to her, hoping to leave the conversation as soon as possible.

"I'll see you around!"

Cassie and Scorpius were already walking away as she waved goodbye, looking defeated.

"I cannot even begin to thank you for that save." He stated when they turned into the gardens and were safely out of earshot.

"You looked like you were watching puppies drown in there, I couldn't let a fellow Slytherin suffer that much." She giggled and grabbed a drink off of one of the tables, making sure to slip some alcohol into the cup discreetly. "These parties are the reason I have nightmares at night." She continued, "My Mother insists on me finding an 'agreeable suitor' to take me to the Ball this year and I can't even look at these men. They are absolutely vile." Now it was Scorpius' turn to down his Firewhiskey.

"I believe you. If I had to listen to one more thing about a peep-toe or sequins - whatever those are - I would most likely, Avada myself. And it's not like I can't find my own future wife or a woman for that matter." He complained.

"Oh, I'm sure it's not your ability to get a witch in your bed that they question, if they know anything about you, Malfoy." She laughed. "It's more of your ability to find a _suitable_ witch and, keep her."

Truth was, Malfoy was quite emotionally unavailable. He had experienced physical pleasure with two or three witches but, he felt as though they only were attracted to him due to his wealth, as they were all family acquaintances whom he had a casual relationship last Summer. Scorpius was usually quite uninterested towards the girls in his year and thought they were either too prudish, too young or too out there for his tastes. "Of course." He rolled his eyes and took one more gulp of the burning liquor. "I just don't understand why my parents still put up with all of this bullshit since they no longer believe in it." Scorpius watched as Cassandra glanced at his mother, Astoria Malfoy, politely laughing at a joke some older wizard he did not recognize told.

"They want what's best for you." She looked back at him kindly, a gesture that was sincere, something very hard to achieve for a Slytherin such as herself. "Besides, it's your Grandparents they want to please and they are old, you don't know how much longer you have with them."

He nodded, understanding her point. It wasn't old age that would eventually take his Grandparents, specially his Grandfather, Lucius. It was the disasters of their past. Years of evil, Dark Magic and Azkaban eventually caught up to you, even if you were a rich, powerful wizard.

"Thank Merlin I found you, Scorp. Firewhiskey and ditch?" Basilius Zabini said as he approached Scorpius, looking just as miserable as the both of them. "Oh, hello Cassie. Looking gorgeous as always." He flashed her a smile and winked suggestively.

"Thanks, Zabini." She said, rolling her eyes. "I'll leave you boys to it, looks like my Mother finally realized I haven't been talking to Flint as I said I would." Cassie said staring at the not so pleased face of her Mother, fast walking in their direction, probably demanding an explanation.

"I say we get out of here before our own Mothers realize our absence." Zabini said as he pulled Scorpius behind an ice sculpture, hoping to hide for a little longer.

"And where do you suggest we run of to? If you haven't realized, this is my house."

"Obviously not here, you bimwit. Let's find Alex, grab some booze and Floo to Potter's. I heard James is having a rager tonight." He said grabbing Scorpius' drink from his hand and downing it in one gulp.

Alexander Nott, another one of his friends from childhood was also wandering about the house, being from a Pureblood family as well and having to suffer through the same gatherings as them both.

"We can't all just leave now, and besides, Al's is not starting until nighttime. We have hours to kill." Surprisingly enough, Scorpius' best friend was Albus Potter. A fact that not only shocked both of their families but also the two boys when they were eleven. Scorpius wasn't quite sure how they had become so close over the last five years but, somewhere in between Quidditch, dorm life and a complicated family in both parts, the two bonded and were inseparable ever since.

It was easy for Scorpius to understand Al and vice-versa. Al felt that his family expected so much of him due to his Father's success and Scorpius felt like he, alone, needed to make the Malfoy name honorable again due to his Father's mistakes.

Once they both understood that, it was easy to be friends. Bas and Alex on the other hand, were a little more difficult to persuade. Even though Scorpius knew the two since birth - it being a Pureblood tradition to have children around the same age so that they could potentially be friends or mate - he grew up with not only them but with a lot of other Pureblood kids. Bas and Alex were always two peas in a pod and Scorpius felt as though he ended up bossing them around instead of being friends with them - a result of being raised as an only child.

Once he got to Hogwarts, however, he had to grow out of his ways fairly quickly and now the four of them were as close as ever.

"Bullocks, you're right. Pray to Merlin that there's enough Firewhiskey to get me through today." Bas said running his hand through his dark hair. "And it's only the first week of Summer."

Hours later, Scorpius' face hurt from smiling forcibly and his neck was quite sore from nodding so much but, for the first time that entire day, he felt excited. It was almost time to sneak out of the house.

The plan was a little more elaborate than Scorpius predicted but, he was confident. His parents were incredibly punctual with their sleeping schedules and that is what Scorpius was counting on tonight. It had been exactly 8 minutes since he said goodnight downstairs and it took them about 23 to get into bed and settled down for sleep. If his Dad decided to take his Night Potion tonight to get a peaceful sleep he could get up in about 8 minutes to leave but, he was going to give them 13 just to be sure.

His Phoenix 5000 stood proud by his desk, begging him to give it a spin. He would have to walk out of the grounds as to not alarm the wards, then fly off on his broom to the pub over the hill so that he could Floo over to Albus' house. It was an intricate plan but, it was the safest way there and back.

Albus' parents were out of the country and left James, of all people, in charge. Which obviously meant that a party was in order. Supposedly, the Weasleys were supposed to keep an eye on them but apparently Albus' Aunt Hermione had a celebration with her parents, which are Muggles so, even more perfect.

Ten more minutes and he would be good to go.

This was the last chance they had to have fun together before everyone left for the Summer. He was off to Greece until the very end of August, Bas was going to Italy to spend a few months with his Grandmother, Alex was going to Portugal and Albus would be occupied with the Weasley clan, as always.

He was hoping, most of all, that his Father would allow him to train some Quidditch while abroad since he had just learned that Albus was going to the Captain this year and the team needed to be in top shape if they had any chance of winning the Cup.

Nine minutes.

He thought about Rose Weasley, Albus' favorite cousin and Scorpius' favorite Weasley. Rose was probably the only person in his year that managed to come head-to-head with him on every test, a fact that put a damper on their friendship for quite some time as both of them are very competitive and wanted - still do - to hold the title of top student of their year. Eventually, with Albus' persistency, both of the realized that they were stronger together and Scorpius was able to help Rose in Arithmancy and Potions while she helped him in Transfiguration and Muggle Studies.

Sometimes Scorpius forgot that Rose was actually a girl and not just one of them, probably because she was simply Rose and did not care much for her hair or if her robes were too big. She was a bookworm but an excellent Quidditch Chaser and Scorpius missed her innocent smile and complete naivety where boys were concerned.

He wondered if James had invited the entire school to his gathering, as he was quite the party goer himself. James Potter was the type of person you either loved or hated. He was the loudest, most obnoxious, human being Scorpius had ever met but, he was grateful for the guy, he had saved their arses too many times to count.

The thing was, James had connections. On top of being a Potter, he was a Weasley as well. Which meant that half of the school was related to him somehow and owed him a favour, which is how he got Albus and Scorpius out of the biggest disaster last year.

They were caught at the wrong place at the wrong time, in the middle of a nasty prank that ended up sending seven second years and three third years to the hospital wing. Turns out some fourth year Gryffindors were trying to stir up some trouble and blame it on them but James' connections got them out of a year long detention and probably some nasty Howlers.

Four minutes.

He wondered if Dominique Weasley was going to be there. Out of the entire Weasley Clan, and probably Hogwarts, Scorpius was very smitten with her. She had strawberry blonde hair and dimples. Every time she smiled was a ray of sunshine and every man in the room could not look away.

Her success with the opposite sex most likely were a product of her Veela heritage and good genes but, she was still very beautiful. Scorpius knew however, that there was no way in Hell that Dom would ever look his way, his lack of muscle and height putting a little damper on things. His pale skin and almost-white hair, a Malfoy characteristic trait, as well as his angular nose and silver eyes not the real problem but, the height of his Father - almost 6'4" - being substituted by his Mother's side of the family - as her Father was no taller than 5'9" - the real concern, as Dom herself was 5'11" of majestic legs. He was in no means unattractive but, sometime last year he noticed as most of his friends who were just as tall and skinny as he, grew while he stayed the same. His Mother assured him that Malfoys were late bloomers and they matured the mind before the body, which in her opinion, made them better men as they had the opportunity to reflect mentally before simply flaunting their physique.

He thought it was a load of Hippogriff bung. He figured it was simply her way of taking his mind off of it and hopefully, he would at least reach 6'0".

It was time.

Scorpius slowly took the covers off his fully clothed body and carefully slipped his black shoes on. He whispered a quick Lumos as his wand lit up and he could clearly see his way around the room.

He gripped his broom and opened his window. The air was crisp but not too cold, as expected for May in Scotland.

He would have to climb down to the balcony on the first floor and jump over it as his room was located on the second floor. He managed to complete the task without any major incidents, surprisingly so as he landed and created quite a bit of noise.

Scorpius held his breath as he power walked through the front gates, hoping that his plan would work and simply walking out of the ground would not alert the wards. He felt the force of the magic pull him back put he kept walking and finally crossed the main gate. He let go of his breath. He made it out, now on to The Pub.

The Pub was a very quaint location where his Father usually bought liquor due to its proximity to the house and the owner, Mr. Thornton was always open and always willing to make a good deal. They also had an everywhere Floo, which allowed you to Floo somewhere without being traced, something valued nowadays.

Scorpius almost forgot how much he loved the feel of the crisp air on his face, the elation that came with flying so high up that you barely feel your own weight. The trip was shorter than he would have liked but, he knew that he could fly whenever he wanted and, he had a mission today.

Part of him wondered how Alex and Bas were doing to get out of their own houses and he hoped they succeeded because if one of them got caught, it was very likely that their parents would Floo-call one another to check on them as they always misbehaved together somehow.

"How'd do, Mr. Malfoy?" Mr. Thornton greeted him as he walked through the smoky atmosphere of The Pub.

"Doing very well tonight, Benny." He said as a few men glanced at him in between puffs of cigarettes. "Wondering if I can get three of the usual and use your Hopper tonight." He said, gesturing to a very well stocked bag of Galleons he carried and eyeing the room in which he knew his Floo to be.

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy. You order to go, I presume?" The older man asked as he grabbed three of his best bottles of Firewhiskey. Scorpius had done this plenty of times and, if paid well, Benny was great at minding hm own business and keeping his mouth shut.

"Yes, indeed." He said placing the bag on the counter and watching the man bag his purchases.

"Right this way, please." He walked around the counter and handed Scorpius the liquor bag, gesturing towards the room in the back.

They walked into the dim lit room, a few candles simply lighting their way, a simple table stood by the fireplace with a pot of Floo Powder on top of it. "Whenever you're ready, Mr. Malfoy. Thank you for your purchase, always a pleasure doing business with you."

Scorpius nodded and stepped into the fireplace, grabbing a handful of powder in his left hand. "Potter's Palace!" He shouted as he felt the green flames engulf him and take him to his destination.

* * *

"Goddammit Malfoy! Get your rich arse over here!" He heard a deep voice shout as soon as he finished dusting himself off at the Potter's drawing room. He could hear the bass of the wireless coming from the other room and mentally prepared himself to greet a very drunk, very loud room full of Gryffindors.

"James." He greeted the oldest Potter as he raised his bag full of Firewhiskey. "Brought you a little present."

James laughed and called Fred Weasley over so that he could take the bottles to the makeshift bar. Scorpius placed his broom behind the bar as well and hoped that it was a safe spot. The three of them took two shots of the liquor to warm things up as Scorpius glanced around, trying to see how many people were there exactly.

"Go on, mate. Al and Alex are in the next room, I'm just waiting on Zabini so I can close the Floo. Thanks for the liquor." James said gesturing to the room adjacent to the one he was in.

"Cheers, mate. Good to see you, Fred."

As soon as he walked into the room he could tell it was a Gryffindor party. The mostly red decorations and the grinding bodies on the dance floor suggested that Scorpius was literally walking into the Lion's Den.

He quickly took in the space and saw that most of the furniture had been pushed to the wall to give space to the dance floor and some couches were off to the side where he could already see a few couples snogging.

He recognized some of his classmates lounging about. The Scamander Twins, Lorcan and Lysander, were in deep conversation over the snacks table; Clay Macmillan, Ajax Wood, Julius Görnert and Sabrina Higgs played Wizard's chess in the corner and he could've sworn he saw Sean Finnigan snogging Lucy Weasley.

He finally spotted Alex and Albus drinking casually in one of the couches and made his way over to them.

"Look who decided to grant us with his presence!" Alex exclaimed getting up and greeting Scorpius. Alex wore a navy blue button down and dark pants, his family ring, the only jewelry he ever wore, shining in the disco-like lighting.

"Finally, mate! I was beginning to think that you got caught leaving the Manor." Albus said handing Scorpius another drink, as his cup was already empty.

"You know I'm a boss at sneaking out, Al. I just wanted to take my time. Besides, I brought over more liquor." He said raising his cup. "Where's Rose? I thought she would be here" He continued noticing he hadn't seen a flash of curly red hair around yet.

"I dunno. I saw her, Bella and Noelle head upstairs when we were setting up but I haven't seen them since." It was no secret that Albus has been in love with Scorpius' cousin, Noelle Pucey since they first glanced at each other but, Al was too afraid to make a move and now she was dating Ajax Wood, of all people. The guy was vile and cheated on her every chance he got and worst of all, she knew about it.

"Hm, how's Soft Wood? Behaving, for once?" Scorpius said, using the nickname they usually referred the Gryffindor Seeker by.

"If you call hitting on Sabrina every two seconds behaving then yeah." Alex said staring at the two playing Poker meters away.

"That bloke drives me bonkers. I swear I'll smash his head in one day." Scorpius could see Albus' fist forming and his green eyes narrowing. Definitely not a good idea to make him mad here of all places, besides, he was not in the mood for a fight.

"There's nothing you can do, Al. We all warned her and she keeps going back to him, it's her choice now." He saw as his eyes softened and his demeanor changed to defeated.

"I know, I just wished things were different." He whispered so softly that Scorpius barely caught it.

He knew how sensitive the subject was so he simply let it go, choosing that discussion for another time.

They all exchanged small talk regarding Summer plans and most importantly, Quidditch drills that they should be practicing, when Alex, who stood facing the stairs while Scorpius and Albus faced the entrance pointed out the new additions to the party.

Scorpius watched as the first one down, Arabella Kay, moved her hazel colored hair to the side, exposing her bare shoulders. She wore a form fitting maroon short dress, letting her tan legs exposed. Bella was a gorgeous woman and she looked so every time he saw her, he couldn't deny that but, what really caught his attention was the girl coming downstairs right behind her.

What he thought to be Rose Weasley simply went against every image of her he ever had. Her usually quite unruly curly hair fell onto her back in soft curls and she wore a dress that made her breasts look absolutely amazing. Scorpius didn't even know Rose had breasts.

Her cheeks were a lovely shade of pink and she held Noelle's hand, walking through the room.

"Is Rose really wearing a dress?" He asked, still confused at the sight before him.

"What? Rose?" Albus said distracted. He clearly was way more concerned about Noelle than his own cousin, which was understandable.

Just as the exchange was happening, Bas finally walked in looking victorious with James and Fred behind him. The latter holding two bottles of Firewhiskey and Exploding Snaps.

"Listen up, everyone! Last person finally arrived so let's get this party started!" James exclaimed while some rowdy Gryffindors cheered. "Fred is starting a round of Drunk Exploding Snaps for anyone interested and I'm DJing. Have fun, be safe and don't do anything I wouldn't do." He continued.

"I still don't understand how you both are related." Alex said jokingly to Albus while getting up. "I'm about to join the Drunk club, you all down?"

They all agreed and joined the crowd that was quickly forming around Fred Weasley.

"Scorp!" Arabella exclaimed as she spotted him among the crowd. "Nice to see you!" She said, hugging him.

"Hi, Bella." He flashed her a smile as he pulled back, "Looking gorgeous, as always."

She laughed and thanked him, their playful exchange being a normal occurrence through their friendship. He looked around for Rose and Noelle and found them sitting at the opposite side of the circle so he settled for just a wave.

They played a couple rounds of the game until Scorpius thought that he was getting a little too drunk to be careful enough to not singe his eyebrows off so he decided to take a walk.

He spotted the balcony door and slid it open, feeling the crisp wind on his flushed face made him more awake, less hazy. He took a deep a breath, still feeling the burn of the Firewhiskey on his throat.

"Hey there, stranger." A sweet and shy voice sounded behind him, making a grin appear on his lips. He knew that voice anywhere.

"Hey there, Rosie." He said, turning around and opening his arms so that she could give him a hug. "How you been?"

"Good, was just wondering how my best friend is doing." She smiled, leaning against the balcony by his side.

He smiled at her, noticing how her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkling, probably due to the alcohol.

"Doing good." He glanced her up and down, "Can I ask you why you decided to raid Bella's closet for the night?" He asked, his eyebrow raising

She looked down into her half-empty cup of Firewhiskey and took a sip, embarrassed.

"She said it would look good on me but I guess I just look like a child in her Mum's dress." She gave a humourless laugh, glancing into his eyes through her eyelashes. "I just wanted to feel pretty I guess."

"Hey," He caught her chin in his hand, forcing her to look into his eyes. "You look absolutely beautiful." He saw her cheeks flush a deeper red and a smile creep on her lips.

"Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself, Malfoy." He laughed at her attempt at teasing. Rose was one of the wittiest women he had ever met but when it came to playful teasing she always caught herself embarrassed or not knowing what to say. It was quite fascinating.

He thanked her, and they proceeded to talk about everything and anything. It was always like that with Rose, she would ask him about the weather and they would end up discussing the probability in which a Goblin could have a child with a giant and if the offspring would be of normal height. The topics never ran out and there was never an awkward pause.

"Tell me about the Manor." She said, her back pressed against the balcony glass door as she sat on the floor next to him, her eyes looking at him with curiosity.

"Well, it's very large." He began, trying to find ways to describe his family home. "I have a wing all to myself and my parent's is right above mine. I used to stay in the room adjacent to theirs when I was really young but when I turned six they moved me to the Second Floor, South Wing." He glanced at her, her expression of wonder. "We have breakfast in the Gardens during the Summer and dinner in the Dining Room, which is composed of a very large table, too large for only three people to sit on, in my opinion."

"And when you're at school, do your parents live there all by themselves?" She said, her brow furrowed, trying to imagine two people in such a large house.

"My Father travels a lot for work and most of the time and my Mom goes with him. We have a few properties around Europe so they sometimes stay there." He answers, feeling slightly uncomfortable talking about how rich his family really is. He hated when people assumed he was simply a rich, spoiled boy. His parents made sure that he was raised differently than they were, with different values and, rubbing their money on people's faces was not one of them. "So, yeah… We have a Quidditch pitch that I practice in too but, it's quite difficult when you don't have anyone to play against." He finishes, taking the last sip of his drink.

He feels her eyes on him, reading his face.

"Do you wish you had any other siblings?" She whispers, her voice small. "Do you get lonely?"

"I do." His smile is sad. "My parents always wanted a lot of kids but, my Mum almost died giving birth to me so, they didn't want to risk it anymore. She had trouble all throughout the pregnancy, they're hard on her." He said, realizing suddenly that he had never said anything about that to anyone.

Scorpius was one of the oldest out of his friends but he was also the smallest. He was born prematurely and his parents even thought he wouldn't survive. That is reason why his birth wasn't announced to the Wizarding Community until he was almost five months old, and his parents were sure of his health.

"So much for Pureblood families being more powerful, huh?" He laughed bitterly. As one of the last completely Pureblood families, the Malfoys were running out of options in order to set up a good marriage. His parents were afraid that Scorpius would have trouble having children as well if he married an English Pureblood witch since the blood was so similar. But his Grandparents didn't agree, they kept saying that it was all nonsense, that they needed to keep doing what has worked for generations but, Scorpius and his parents knew better. And that was why his Mother kept hosting party after party, inviting Pureblood families from all over Europe in hopes of appeasing both her husband's and her in-law's wishes.

Scorpius told Rose then, all of the worries and the pressure of continuing the family name, of pleasing his parents and above all, of living a life that he thought was worth it all.

She listened without interrupting, her eyes kind and understanding. He had never felt more at ease with someone than at that moment, he felt lighter after talking to her, less worried.

"Thank you for listening, Rose." He said, glancing down at his empty cup, feeling more alert than he ever felt. "It means a lot to me."

"No, thank you for sharing with me." She smiled kindly, resting her hand above his, and he noticed how cold they were. "I'll always be here for you if you ever need anything. That's what friends are for."

He smiled at her again and stood up, offering her his hand so that she could also stand.

"Let's get you inside, you're freezing." He said kindly, opening the sliding glass door.

"There you are!" Scorpius saw Bas stumble towards him, obviously drunk. "I missed you man. You have no idea what you missed, I saw such a great pair of breasts… Wow!"

"Okay, let's get you home," Scorpius said, interrupting him before he said something he shouldn't. He grabbed Bas' arm and helped him walk towards the mostly empty house. He didn't realize it had gotten so late.

"Oh, blimey Rose! I have been looking everywhere for you!" Albus said, coming out of the kitchen. "Oh I see you found Bas. He's plastered."

"I see that. I'm taking him home and heading out myself." Scorpius said, saying his goodbyes to Albus and Rose, promising to write while in Greece.

He stepped onto the Floo and watched the green flamed take him and Bas from the Potter house.

Later that night, finally laying on his bed, Scorpius closed his eyes and all he could see was rich red hair and kind brown eyes.


	2. Rose

Chapter 2 - Rose

Rose breathed in the dry air of King's Cross Station and instantly felt a little closer to home. It had been a long and enjoyable 4 months of Summer but, she was more than ready to go back to Hogwarts and see the other half of her family, her friends.

She looked over to her side and saw her not so little brother adjusting their trunks on a trolley. He was growing up so fast, already half of a head taller than Rose herself. She blamed it on her Mum's petite frame that would not allow her to grow past 5'6" but, she was thankful that she had gotten her smarts from her Mum as well so, not much room to complain.

"You're looking more like Hermione each day, dear." Gran Molly smiled at her as she hugged her close, eyes already watering. Her grandparents still insisted on coming to the station to send all of them off, they said that it was a tradition that could not be broken, no matter how much work it took. Rose thought it was more of her Grandpa really loving riding on a Muggle car that made them so excited for September 1st than actually seeing them off but, she pretended it wasn't so. "Same face, just a Weasley red hair."

"Had to get something from me, right, Mum?" Her Dad smiled as he patted her on the head.

"My chess and broom skills are definitely yours as well, Dad. There's no way Mum could ever ride a broom"

"And my sense of humour, of course!" She saw Ron Weasley's eye light up with mischief as he glanced to his wife, making sure she was more preoccupied with fussing over Hugo's hair than to listen to their conversation.

"I can still hear you, Ronald." If there's something that Rose learned early on is that nothing got past her Mum, not even the slightest sound. She watched her Dad's eyes widen, knowing he was caught red-handed. "And I'll have you know I'm quite funny, aren't I, Hugo?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Her brother said, trying to not get into the conversation, making all of them laugh merrily.

As her Mum jokingly reprimanded her husband, Rose watched them interact with each other, seeing how happy and perfect they seemed. Even though her parents bickered on a daily basis she never seen a couple so perfect for each other. Her Dad whispered something in her Mum's ear and she blushed prettily, giving him the eye while saying something about the children being around.

Rose admired the way her parents were able to be serious when they needed to, playful, and most importantly, madly in love. She hoped that someday, she could find a love like that, a love that no matter how much time passed, they would still have the same thrill of being with each other as they did in the beginning.

"Has anyone seen Uncle Harry? I really need to grab something from Lily." Hugo said glancing around the busy station, hoping to find the family of five. "There they are!"

It took her a moment longer to see Albus' black messy hair from across the platform due to the amount of people pushing past her, trying to say goodbye to their families. She met his eyes and waved, standing on her tippy toes in hopes that he would be able to see her.

She saw her Aunt Ginny quickly point them out to the rest of the Potters and rush them to meet in the middle, so that the kids could all board the train together.

"What took you so long, Ron? Did you let Dad drive?" Ginny said, resting her hands on her hips.

"Of course not! We would've gotten here by Christmas. We just had to stop so Dad could look at the new 3D telly they have at the Muggle store across the car park." Her Dad said mentioning to Grandpa Weasley, who was very much concentrated on his new Nintendo Gameboy, a gift that Uncle Harry quite regrets getting him last Christmas since he will not stop playing it. "I reckon he still likes the Gameboy better."

"Hello, Rose! Excited to be a sixth-year?" James said smiling broadly, his set of perfect white teeth showing and his dimples more defined as his skin held a light gold tan.

"Very! I can't wait to start Charms and Herbology again! Actually, do you know who got Head Girl and Boy this year?"

"Not me." He laughed.

"Well, obviously. You weren't even a Prefect, James." Al said, looking at his brother and shaking his head.

"Sod off, Al. And I know Igor Shacklebolt got Head Boy but I'm not sure who got Head Girl." James finally said, shrugging his broad shoulders.

They all chatted a little longer and started saying their goodbyes, wishing luck on Exams - mostly Rose's Mum - and to stay safe, write regularly, the usual. They parted ways, hoping to find a good compartment to settle. As they waved to their families who stayed in the platform she saw her parents blow her kisses through the window and she sighed, already missing them.

Rose and Albus parted ways with James, who went to look for Fred and Lily and Hugo, who joined the other fifth-years, and walked around the train, looking for their friends and hoping someone arrived early enough to snag a compartment.

Even if her closest cousin was not in the same House as she, - as Rose was sorted into Ravenclaw and Albus into Slytherin - they shared the same friends, which were a curious assortment of Ravenclaws, Slytherins and even the occasional Gryffindors.

Rose quickly learned that she belonged to a new generation in Hogwarts, where most students were raised by parents who saw the horrors of a war first hand and never wished any of it upon their children so, they taught them to be tolerant of people's differences.

Obviously, everything sounded much better in theory than reality and there were quite a few students who insisted in engaging in House prejudice and rivalry but, for the most part, Rose was lucky to find the right friends.

She remembered how weird and crazy her first week at Hogwarts was when she was just a first-year. She came into the Sorting Hat Ceremony with an open mind and asked the Hat to place her wherever he thought she would be the happiest and she has been nothing but in Ravenclaw.

She wasn't at all surprised to see her cousin join the Slytherin House but, she was surprised to see that he did not ask the Sorting Hat to place him in Gryffindor with his brother and most of their family. She later found out that Albus simply wanted to be sure that his choice was taken into consideration and he chose Slytherin, because he knew that's where he belonged. She was very proud of him.

"Oh, there's Noelle and Arabella." She heard Albus state as he opened the compartment door.

Noelle and Arabella were Rose's best girlfriends and fellow Ravenclaw roommates. They bonded instantly when they found out their mutual interest in outer space, ice cream and books. She found the best friends she could ever ask for and she will forever be grateful that she met them.

"Hi Al, Rosie! I missed you both terribly, please tell me all about your Summer!" Bella said as she engulfed first Albus, then Rose in a hug. Bella was a very outgoing, touchy person, probably due to the fact that her Mum was from Brazil. Her Latin roots were clear by the gold of her skin, the fullness of her pink lips, and the fact that her Dad was English gave her a very exotic look. Her long hair fell into waves in her back as her brown eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Hi guys!" Noelle said as she hugged them both as well. Rose noted how Albus held onto her waist a little tighter and let her go reluctantly. He just couldn't help himself. Rose decided to let it go but definitely talk to him later about his never fading crush on Noelle.

"Hi! We missed you too as well! Our Summer was just the usual, The Burrow, reading, Quidditch. It was nice to relax a bit." Rose said sitting down across from Bella and Albus by her side next to the window and across from Noelle. "How about you? How was Portugal?"

"Amazing! Everything is beautiful and the people are very friendly! I actually ran into Alex there" Bella said excitedly.

"Oh, that's wicked! Where is everyone else, by the way?" Albus said glancing around the empty space.

"Alex, Bas and Cassie dropped by but went to change into robes. I haven't seen Sabrina or the Twins yet." Noelle said adjusting her tie around her neck.

"How about Scorp? No one's seen him?" Rose asked, a little concerned. Scorpius was usually the first one to arrive in the train and she could not remember a time where she arrived and he wasn't already there. His parents insisted on being punctual and he was never anything but. She watched both of them shake their heads and murmur that they hadn't seen the blond wizard at the platform.

Just as Rose was about to question more, the compartment door opened and three Slytherin robes were seen as her friends walked in.

They all greeted each other and asked how their Summer had been, chatting animately about the places they got to see and great time they had over the last four months. It was great to be back with everyone, it felt like nothing had changed even thought everyone did look slightly different.

Rose wasn't quite sure when the boys decided to grow so much over such a short period of time. Somewhere along the years she went from being the tallest to the one of the shortest in the group, as she stopped growing long before everyone else.

The little compartment could no longer hold all of them comfortably as she was currently being squeezed in between Bas and Al and, not all of them were there, since Sabrina and Scorpius were still wandering about the train.

"Oh, it's almost time for the Prefects meeting." Cassie said glancing at her watch.

"You're right, I better go find Julius before he decides to lock himself in the bathroom with another fifth-year." Rose said rolling her eyes, recalling the mortifying experience last year when she found her fellow Ravenclaw Prefect, Julius, in full snog with a girl in the year below them. Needless to say, Rose almost had a heart attack as she had never seen a couple in such a state of undress before.

She heard her friends laugh and make fun of her naivety once more. The thing was, Rose was quite the innocent one among them, being the most inexperienced, having never even kissed a boy before. But, it was not simply her lack of experience that made her an easy target for their jokes, as she knew that Bella and Cassie were too, virgins. It was the fact that Rose was absolutely clueless when it came to romantic clues. She has always been more preoccupied with other matters to learn such things and, she always believed that when she was out of Hogwarts, the right wizard would come along and everything would flow naturally. She wasn't interested in anyone and she thought that boys were an unnecessary distraction she could not let get in the way of her goals so, she chose to remove herself from it. Besides, it wasn't as though any boy in school was even remotely interested in her, she was too bossy, too smart and probably not dolled up enough to keep a teenage boy entertained and she was fine with that.

Just as Rose was about to leave the compartment in order to find Julius, she collided to a very hard, muscled chest.

"Ouch!" She rubbed her sore nose as the stranger grabbed her by the elbows, preventing her from falling backwards. "Merlin, you need to watch where you're going or- " She stopped when her eyes finally focused on the green and silver tie staring at her. Her eyes drifted upwards as she met a smirk, a pointy nose - quite tan with a hint of redness - and a pair of playful metallic eyes, covered in the longest and lightest eyelashes. "Scorpius?"

She took a step back to properly take in the boy - no, man - before her. The Scorpius she last saw was no more than three inches taller than her and now she could only reach his shoulder. Shoulders that were incredibly broad and arms muscular enough to tell under his white dress shirt. She watched him steady her on her feet and move his left hand through his white-blond hair, making sure to shake his short fringe out of his eyes. She glanced at his family ring resting proudly on his left hand, it was him.

"Hello, Rosie." He smiled broadly, reaching to give her a hug which now, engulfed her into a warmth of hard muscle. "I missed you."

"What the fuck, Malfoy." She heard the shocked voice of Basilius as he stood in the compartment and the room fell into silence. "Please tell me what they were giving you in Greece because I want some of it."

"Maybe it was all the Baklava I ate." Scorpius let her go and smiled at his long-time friend.

"I swear you must've grown 5 inches, Malfoy. I barely recognized you!" Bas continued, giving Scorpius a man-type hug thing that Rose didn't really understand.

Slowly the initial shock was wearing off as everyone asked the new addition how his Summer went and where he had been since he was so late.

"Uh, well. My parents got here quite late, we ended up missing our Portkey so I wasn't even sure I would make it in time but, here I am." He flashed another bright smile, his eyes sparkling in contrast with the slight tan he sported.

"Yeah and you were wandering about the train alone for the past 30 minutes, huh?" Alex said from the other side of the compartment, an unbelieving smirk on his face, showing he knew there was more to the story than just a missed Portkey.

"Well, a gentleman never tells." Scorpius answered mysteriously, eliciting encouragement from the boys to spill the beans but their efforts were denied, at least until later. Scorpius did tell, however, about the Quidditch teams he visited in Greece and how his Father put him in a very 'wicked' and challenging training with some great coaches.

Rose felt confused and quite betrayed. She had exchanged plenty of letters with Scorpius over the long Summer and not once he had mention a late growth spur, intense Quidditch training or a lady-friend for that matter. Rose thought of Scorpius as her best male friend outside of her family and it was weird to her that he would choose not to share those things with her. She told him everything about herself, from her latest favorite book to when she got her period during a Hogsmeade visit and had no one to help her but him. This is what happened when boys grew up, she thought. They no longer were interested at being friends with naive, petite, bookworm girls, they wanted to snog and talk about sports all day and that had finally reached her best friend.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" Their chatter was interrupted by the smell of candy they had all been waiting for since the stepped foot on the train. Rose was more than ready to spend a great load of her allowance on Chocolate Frogs, Every-Flavor Beans and most importantly, Cinnamon Gummies, her all-time favorite.

She watched as her friends fumbled to get all the treats they wanted and the elderly lady rolled off, much richer.

"Well, the chat has been lovely but, I've got to go find Julius." Rose sighed as she stood up, attempting to leave once more.

"Oh, right. I guess we should go as well, Cassie." Scorpius said, getting up and mentioning for the girls to go before him, always the gentleman.

The three of them said their goodbyes and started making their way to the front of the train where the meeting was going to be held. Thankfully, Rose ended up running into Julius on her way there so the unpleasant experience of last year was not repeated.

They reached the Head's compartment to find most of the Prefects already there so they all took their seats and waited for the meeting to start. Rose saw that along with Igor Shackebolt, the new Head Girl was Megan Lee, which she thought was a good choice, as Megan was very lively and organized to balance out Igor's serious demeanor.

"Hey Rosie, you okay?" She heard Scorpius whisper next to her, his always minty breath caressing her left shoulder. For some reason, she felt very aware of his body next to hers, from the material of his dress pants against her bare legs, to the occasional bump of her foot on his as she bobbed it back and forth, a bad habit. It was all probably because the train felt very muggy and hot and due to space issues, everyone had to sit very close together on the benches that lined up the space. "You haven't said much all morning." He continued.

"Oh, I'm alright. Just a bit hungry, can't wait for the feast." She lied quietly.

Rose knew that she should just ask him why he never told her anything but, she didn't even know if Scorpius was seeing someone and he could've just been busy all Summer and, decided to tell her about his adventures when they saw each other again. She was probably overreacting because of her strong dislike to change. Rose quite liked things to go as she expected and planned and when things caught her off guard she wasn't the happiest of campers so, she thought she would just let herself get used to the new Scorpius.

"Alright, everyone. Megan and I spent weeks getting this schedule just right and, yes, we already finalized it so that can't be any whining, pleading or complaining. You are getting your rounds before any schoolwork or Quidditch practice so I want no excuses." Igor said, his dark eyes finding each of them as he made sure everyone understood his serious tone.

"Of course, your Professors and Captains are already aware of your Prefect duties so you should encounter no problem." Megan smiled gently as she started distributing the schedules around. Her straight, short dark hair brushed against her shoulders as she continued, "Igor and I are here for any questions you might have."

"And rounds partners are FINAL. I do not want to hear any of you say you don't get along with your assigned partner." He continued, "We made sure to pick reasonably so there shouldn't be a problem anyways."

Rose got her schedule and saw that she had quite more round times than Julius, who sat on her right side. She had one with him on Saturdays, one with Sean Finnigan on Wednesdays and two with Scorpius, one Fridays and another on Mondays. She was thankful that she did not have any with Ajax Wood, the Gryffindor Prefect of her year, as she could not stand him.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Megan's excited voice rang through the compartment.

"Are we planning the Autumn Ball this year? And if so, when do we start?" Tabitha McLaggen, the fifth-year Hufflepuff Prefect asked.

"Oh, great question. Yes, we will be planning the Autumn Ball later this term but Igor and I will bring you all more information about it as the date gets closer."

Excited murmurs echoed through the students as the Autumn Ball was an event that only fifth-years and up got to attend. After the chatter died down, they were quickly dismissed and instructed to be ready to lead the first-years into their dorms once they were sorted.

The journey to the castle was quicker than Rose predicted, as they chatted animately about their Summers with all the other Prefects. Rose couldn't help but notice how odd Margareth Fawley, the Gryffindor Prefect, was acting around Scorpius, pulling on his tie and touching his hair every chance she got. She watched the way Scorpius interacted with everyone, his demeanor changed, his back straight, meeting everyone's eye as they talked. He seemed to finally feel comfortable in his own skin, not the skinny, funny and gangly boy she last saw but, a confident man.

Rose scanned the busy Hogsmeade station for her friends as she stepped out of the scarlet train, she couldn't help the smile spreading across her face as she thought about the feast waiting for her back at the castle, and of course, the Library, her favorite spot in Hogwarts.

"Do you see them?" Rose asked, trying to look for Noelle's curly hair in the crowd of students. She got on her tippy toes in an attempt to see through all the bodies rushing out of the train to no avail.

"Found them, come" She heard Scorpius exclaim as he grabbed her right hand and started dragging her through the platform.

"There you two are! The rest of the gang took one of the carriages already." Albus said stepping into the carriage that seemed to be pulled by no one.

Rose couldn't wait to start this school year, something inside told her that it was going to be an incredible one.

* * *

Later that night, the three Ravenclaw girls found themselves sitting on their dormitory rug, laughing and eating all the candy they brought from home. It was a tradition of theirs to have this time together and write down their expectations for this upcoming year as well as the Summer. It was also a tradition to read what they wrote the year before, which was the precise reason why they found themselves crying of laughter.

"I cannot believe you wrote that, Elle!" Bella said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Well! You do not have an afro so you do not understand!" Noelle said, giggling as well.

"I second that, it's actually a pretty accurate expectation, not gonna lie." Rose exclaimed. Being a fellow curly head, she understood Noelle's expectation of 'Hopefully by this time next year, my hair does not resemble a rat's nest and I can actually have boys pull on it without it getting tangled.'

"I think my favorite part is how you had to include the boys pulling on it part." Rose continued, giggling.

"That's actually the most important part of it, honestly." She said, shrugging her shoulders. "Okay, this one goes to the done pile. Rose, yours next!"

Rose grabbed the mug where she always stored her expectations and pulled one out at random, hoping hers wasn't too silly.

"Okay, mine says 'I hope that by this time next year I….'" She stopped mid-sentence as she knew exactly which note this was. She groaned internally. Rose knew that she shouldn't have written it down and know she was not gonna hear the end of it. "I don't want to say it."

"It can't be that bad, Rosie!" Bella said encouragingly, "Wait until you hear my next one. Besides, we are best friends" She pouted

"Fine. ' I hope that by this time next year I have kissed a boy.'" She finished, feeling defeated. "Well, that one goes to maybe this year pile."

"Rosie, stop that. Just because Elle and I have doesn't mean you do." Bella said, grabbing Rose's hand in hers, her cold long fingers squeezing her tiny palm reassuringly.

"Well, Elle is always on the next level with Ajax." She said, watching her friend look down embarrassed. "But I know that, it's just that all the boys treat me like I'm five."

Rose knew that she was a petite girl and easily the shortest of all of them, followed by Noelle. But the difference was that even though Noelle was quiet and loved to read and keep to herself, she was quite a flirt when it came to boys, and they always went on and on about her muscular legs and bum. Noelle was on second boyfriend and she loved being in a relationship, it suited her.

Bella was tall, had amazing boobs and bum, all slim, tan, long-legged and fun. She was the kind of smart that did not need to pick up a book ever and she knew all kinds of fun facts about everything. Even though she hadn't had a boyfriend yet, boys died to get with her and she knew it.

Rose was tiny, shy and had a really smart mouth. She knew that she didn't do much to highlight her 'assets' but she was always afraid of what others would think, of what her cousins would say. She didn't want them telling her Mum that she was snogging in school, and her Father! He wants her to marry at 30 and thinks that she is a nun, he would have a coronary.

"Well, it's because you don't give them an opening, every time a bit tries to get close to you, you always bite his head off!" Elle said, making Rose remember the disastrous time when Sean Finnigan tried to ask her out and she almost hexed him, thinking he was pulling a prank on her. Now the poor boy won't even look her way.

"I know, I just get so nervous and I'm always so scared that they are going to run to their friends and make fun of me." She admitted, finally telling her friends about her concerns. She always heard so many horror stories from her cousins about girls and she never ever wanted to imagine a boy talking that way about her. "It's so disrespectful and immature of them to do it but I know they do."

"Well, those boys are all children. Besides, we are friends with a bunch of boys and may I remind you of the army of Weasleys we have to protect you." Bella said, sitting up, her eyes bright with an idea. "We should upgrade your style a bit, like we did at Al's party and see what happens, if anyone is worth your time we can help you along." She saw Elle nod along, agreeing with every word.

Rose thought about it. Even though she was not a fan of change, she knew that things would never progress if she did nothing. She would keep sitting here year after year, reading the same expectation and getting no different outcome. She knew that if she said no, she would look back at this very moment and regret not at least trying, maybe she could find something amazing with someone.

"Alright, I'm in."

She saw her two friends cheer and giggle with joy and couldn't help but smile with them. Rose couldn't be more thankful of having found such amazing friends as Elle and Bella, she would be lost without them.

"Okay, okay enough about me. It's your turn to tell us all about you and Wood, Elle." Rose said, shifting her eye to Noelle's.

Bella gave an annoyed groan and laid down on her pillow, annoyed at the direction the conversation was turning. It was no secret that Ajax Wood was hated by most of their friends, specially Bella, who took it upon herself to right all the wrongs in everyone's relationships.

"Well we both know how that's going: horribly. He's an arse that doesn't deserve you." Bella said bitterly.

"He's trying so hard to be better. He's been super sweet lately." Noelle said, trying to explain.

Rose regretted even bringing up the subject at all, since she knew that it was a difficult thing to talk about, since Noelle obviously did not want to break up with Wood and he was still gonna play around with her heart.

"I know you're not in love with him, Elle. Why do you stay?" Rose asked, finally getting to the heart of the issue.

"Well… He's safe. He makes me happy and I'm never anxious when I'm with him. Even with all his faults I know that he loves me and it's comforting to know that I have someone." She breathed out. Her eyes cast down to her hands, ashamed of her confession. "I know I'm not in love with him but, I still love him."

Rose was confused. She didn't understand why it was so difficult to let someone go, specially if they were toxic. She knew too that, Wood had a troubled life, more troubled than it should've been at sixteen. His mother abandoned his father when he was a young boy and she knew that he had taken a liking in drinking to suppress sensation.

"And the sex is amazing so…" Noelle finished, flashing a mischievous smile.

"I knew you were gonna say that!" Bella exclaimed, hitting her with one of the pillows, the mood suddenly light again.

They continued on like that, laughing, exchanging stories about the Summer, sharing hopes for the year ahead until late night. When everyone was too tired to speak, they all snuggled up into their beds, saying goodnight.

Rose had a smile on her face and a feeling on her heart that she couldn't describe, she just knew it was Hogwarts. It felt amazing to be home.


	3. Alexander

**Author's Note:**

Hello lovelies! I greatly apologize for the lack of submission lately but things have been a little chaotic on this side of the Kingdom. Don't fret! I will be posting some juicy content soon!

With that said, this chapter is very much filled with sexual descriptive scenes so beware!

Cheers,

xoxo

 **Chapter 3 - Alexander**

"Oh yes, Alex! Oh right there!" She moaned loudly in his ear as he thrusted harder into her warm heat, making the bed shake more violently.

They had been fucking for an hour and some minutes now and she had already cummed four times but, he wasn't ready to end it just yet. No, she wasn't the most talented girl in bed or the prettiest he slept with but, she deserved a great fuck and he promised himself that he would not finish until he had no more thoughts of her. Of how her golden skin would look glistening with sweat, how her hair would spill all over his pillow, how her face would look while he brought her to the brink of ecstasy. He mentally cursed himself for thinking about her again.

"Oh my Merlin!" The witch under him moaned again, attempting to bite - maybe lick? - his ear in a sexy way but she ended up just drooling all over his neck.

He quickly flipped her over and made sure she was ready for another round doggy style.

"You doing okay?" He asked, caressing her small bum and brushing her hair to one side of her shoulder. Even though this was casual sex, it didn't mean that he was barbaric, he liked his women wet, willing and satisfied, which meant that he needed to have patience, something he was blessed with.

"So great, Alex, brilliant!" She giggled, wiggling her wetness against his still erect dick.

"Get ready then" He chuckled as he corrected her stance by pushing her knees a little further apart and angling his dick to her entrance. He pounded deep and hard with slow strokes, making sure to reach the very end of her channel and draw more loud moans from the strawberry blonde Gryffindor. In less than ten minutes he felt her walls squeeze around his erection again and he finally decided to let go as he knew she was getting exhausted.

He felt his balls tighten and the pleasurable burn run all the way to the head of his penis, making him ejaculate into the condom. After a few seconds, he carefully pulled out and went into the loo to clean up.

When he came back, he slipped some boxers on and saw that she was still laying on his bed, her hair looking rough and the backs of her legs and bum flushed from the smacking of their bodies.

"You've fucked me throughly, Alex. I don't know how you do it so well, honestly." She laughed as she slowly got up and started to redress. "Thank you for the orgasms, I really needed it. NEWTs are stressing me out to no end." She continued, buttoning her plaid red skirt around her waist and he watched her large breasts bounce as she moved.

"No problem, Molls. You know I'm always at your service." He joked, grabbing her by the waist and giving her nipples one last suck before letting her cover them.

"Good to know" she winked, "I might be requesting those services tomorrow. And keep it low, as always, please." She warned.

"Of course. I don't really fancy an army of Weasleys skinning me by dinner." He said as she walked her to the door of his dorm room, making sure no one was around to see her walk out.

"Perfect. See you around, Nott." Molly Weasley flashed him her brightest smile and ducked out of the Slytherin Common Room.

After over an hour of satisfying sex with a hot girl, all Nott could feel was emptiness. Any bloke would give anything to fuck an older girl and all he could think about was her. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. For the fourth time this week he tried to erase the burn of her eyes on his with meaningless sex and all he could still remember was how beautiful she was and how he would give all this sex away to just hold her in his arms.

* * *

Alex Nott was a very patient man. It was probably the most Slytherin thing about him. Everything he did took a lot of time and thought in order to go as smoothly as possible, with no unforeseen outcomes. Obviously, all his caution and patience was thrown out of the window when it came to Arabella Kay. She was a force of nature, a perfect natural disaster, and above all, there was incredible logic and beauty to her madness.

"Faster, Alex! We're gonna miss it!" She giggled, her shoes echoing through the East hallway, rushing him to run with her as they tried to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts on time.

They were late, of course, because of Mrs. Kay and the difficulty in which she found to attend an event that required punctuality, even if such event was a mandatory class. They usually met up by the Ravenclaw Tower on Wednesdays so that they could walk together to DADA after lunch but, she completely forgot the time as she read a book, making them incredibly late.

They finally reached the classroom as soon as Professor Venot told the mingling students to take their seats.

"Dear Merlin," he murmured, walking into the crowded classroom, his heart beating fast and his hair wind-swept.

"Told you we could make it" He heard her say, her long hair covering her back as her hips swayed in front of him.

He liked DADA but, it was not his favorite subject. He much preferred the calm of Potions or perhaps the predictability of Arithmancy and Transfiguration. And Herbology, he loved Herbology. He found it fascinating, how the magical plants were used for every single thing touched by wizards. He couldn't wait to finally learn about the magical properties of the trees used to make wands, as it was his interest in pursuing wand-making after Hogwarts.

"You look tan" He saw the three words appear on the corner of his parchment in an elegant script. He didn't need to glance over to his side to know that Bella was smiling.

"Well, so do you, Mrs. Kay. I wonder if it has anything to do with the Portuguese sun" He quickly wrote under her comment, watching the words disappear.

"Oh no, you know I've always been golden-skinned, you on the other hand, finally look less like a parchment." She giggled, her words teasing.

He felt his lips curl up in a smile, she never failed to tease him, and he enjoyed every second of it.

"Well, time to put those defensive spells into practice, shall we?" He heard Professor Venot's voice echo through the classroom. "Go on, pair up."

The students begrudgingly stood up, attempting to stay alert for the practical lecture. Alex took his stance, hoping that his class would end soon so that he could finally go to Herbology.

* * *

Hours later, Alex found himself in the Restricted Section of the library, were he comfortably sat at his favorite table, secluded from the casual whisper of the students. He had just finished his last essay for Potions, his left hand cramping from writing so much about the properties and limitations of Felix Felicis. It wasn't a particularly difficult assignment, simply time consuming.

He let out a tired breath and decided to take a much needed break, after all, he only had to practice a new Transfiguration spell he already felt confident about. He gathered his things from his table and swung his bag over his shoulder, hands in his pockets, and walked out of the library.

It was almost time for dinner but he wasn't hungry. He had been feeling odd lately, confused. It wasn't unusual to find Alex deep in thought, his observant eyes simply taking in the environment around him. But lately, he knew exactly why his mind wandered.

Alex was no hypocrite, he knew that he used girls for carnal pleasure and he didn't mind, the witches who visited his bedsheets knew exactly what they were getting themselves into, he made sure of that. He often questioned why he didn't fall in love with them or even wanted to spend time with them outside of the bedroom but, the truth was, he found himself impatient. With all of the things to be impatient about, it seems that his were women. They bored him to no end and he preferred to simply ignore their hints at something more whenever one was foolish enough to do so. He was probably the King of simply not caring about other's opinions about his lifestyle so he found himself in a quite a predicament when he thought about pursuing Arabella and felt quite ashamed of the amount of witches he bedded. Even though she did not seem like it, she was as pure and innocent as a white dove and he hated the thought of possibly corrupting her, or worse, trying something with her and breaking her heart.

He had been completely smitten with her. Actually, he couldn't quite remember a time in which he wasn't. At first, it was a thrill of friendship, of sharing deep conversations, he could listen to her speak for hours, not getting tired of the way her eyes sparkled when she mentioned something she cared about. That's how their friendship started, he was fascinated about the way in which she showed passion, something completely foreign to him. He often did not feel strongly about anything in particular, with the exception of the piano, Quidditch and his aspiring career: wand-making, while Bella was passionate about everything. She either absolutely despised something or loved it without bounds, she was always flaming hot passion to his lukewarm sea.

Every time he closed his eyes, all he could think about was her teasing smile, her twinkling eyes. He couldn't help but imagine how she would feel in his arms, how her tan skin would look against his. She made him burn with desire and passion like no other and the intensity of the feeling quite scared him.

They had spent some lovely evenings together whilst in Portugal over the Summer. Her energy contagious as she made him accompany her to all sorts of Muggle nightclubs, losing herself in the thumping bass as he watched by the bar or, even sometimes danced with her. He had never felt more sure that he wanted to tell her how he felt.

And now, weeks later, he found himself wondering if it was worth it. To risk losing their friendship, a friendship that brought him such joy and emotion to his life for an attempt at something that he knew couldn't work between them. She deserved a man who could love her unconditionally and that did not have a baggage as big as he did.

He mentally cursed himself. He didn't even know if she was actually interested. She made no secret of what she felt about blokes that slept around, and he didn't know if she considered him to be the type of man that would willingly break a woman's heart. He had never done so intentionally, his Mother taught him better.

Alex ran his hand through his hair once more, trying to decide what to do. He knew that if he decided to pursue Bella, it would be a path of no return, he would have to fight his family and hers in order to stay together and all of that was if she reciprocated his feelings. He felt the crumpled up letter he received this morning in his pocket and pulled it out, straightening it so he could clearly see his mother's round writing on it.

"My Dearest Alex,

I hope the beginning of term is treating you well. We miss you dearly already and I wish you were still here, playing the Grand Piano every morning, the house feels so silent when you are away.

I am writing to inform you that your Father has been spending quite a deal of time with Mr. Flint, since he seems to be interested in our family's vast business in France. Surely by now you know what this means. I am aware that 's daughter, Madeline, is a charming young lady in your year and house and I would be delighted if you made an effort in trying to get to know her better.

Please do not jump into any harsh conclusions, since I am merely writing you out of Mother's intuition as your Father did not mention anything to me yet. You and I both know of your duties to this family and, I promised you that I would try my hardest to arrange a marriage most agreeable for you but, options are not a luxury someone in your status has, my son.

I am thankful everyday that your heart has not yet been taken by someone in which you could never have, as a broken heart is, unfortunately, something that only time heals. Once again, I must ask you to keep an open mind and get to know Madeline, as she could be your future wife.

Love and best wishes,

Your Mother."

He sighed, folding the letter back into his pocket once more. His Mother was right, he knew he couldn't let his heart get involved, it would just eventually break him and her, as they couldn't be together. This was the reason why he insisted on not having any relationships, on not caring, and so far he had been very successful at it, never looking past the instant gratification of carnal pleasure and momentary amusement.

Arabella Kay was going to be his undoing and he knew it. She was his hubris, and in the most poetical and fucked up way, he couldn't have her, even when she was so close. He couldn't bare the thought of feeling what a world with her could be like just to lose her eventually so, he made his decision.

Arabella Kay could never be his.

* * *

After a trip to the Kitchen's for a late dinner, Alex finally walked to the Slytherin Dungeons, feeling the familiar cold air as soon as he walked in.

"'Ey mate, haven't seen you since this morning" He heard Bas greet him as soon as he walked in the dormitory.

"Yeah, I've been in the library all day. Wanted to get all the homework out of the way" He brushed it off easily, not wanting to share that he had been spending half of the night wandering aimlessly about the castle alone. "Where's everyone?"

"Scorp is on Prefect rounds and Al was putting up Quidditch trial posters" Bas responded, his eyes following him around the room, not quite believing his story but, he chose to let it go.

"On a lighter note, I happen to have witnessed Molly Weasley sneaking out of this room this very fine morning." Alex groaned as his best friend wiggled his eyebrows, knowing exactly what had happened this morning.

"Oh shut it, Zabini. Don't say a word about it, I mean it." He said threateningly. Zabini knew that most of the woman coming about Alex's bed preferred their identity to remain a secret so, sometimes, he had to pretend he saw nothing.

"Hey, I'd very much like the opportunity to live through this year, thank you very much." He responded, arms up in surrender. "Fred Weasley is her cousin/best friend and if you hadn't noticed, he's about five of me so, I'll gladly keep my mouth shut."

Both points were very true, and Alex nodded in appreciation for his friend's silence. He loosened his tie and slipped it off, throwing it in his bed. All he wanted was a hot shower and bed, his brain felt tired from thinking so much, weighing pros and cons in his head.

"Alex," He heard Bas say as he was about to walk over to the loo. "What's wrong? I know you, man, and this is quiet, even for you."

He let out a tired breath and pulled the crumpled up letter from his pocket, throwing it to Zabini. He knew he couldn't lie to him, they had known each other since birth.

"What's this?"

"Read it."

He watched as Bas' eyes scanned quickly over the parchment, his brow furrowed. He glanced up at him, mouth agape, eyes confused.

"What the bloody hell is this?" He exclaimed, throwing the letter onto the bed, "Is she serious? Madeline Flint?"

"She sure as hell is serious, Bas." Alex sat down, feeling defeated. He knew this wasn't his Mother's choice or fault but he couldn't help but blame her, unleashing his anger onto the messenger.

"For fuck's sake. Madeline is a bitch!"

"Tell me about it. I believe that the last time I tried to carry out a conversation with her she asked me who was the Head of Slytherin House." He could tell that Bas understood his pain. Madeline was probably the most stupid girl he had ever met, and to top it off, she was vile, cunning and had a knack for superiority.

Bas groaned, running his hands through his brown hair.

"Okay, maybe there's a way out of this. Find someone else, I dunno, who else is Pureblood?" Bas said as he paced around the room, eyes wild with an impending plan.

"It doesn't matter, Bas."

"What do you mean, it doesn't matter!" He exclaimed, hands in the air. "This is your life, mate! And I'm sure as hell not letting you marry off some daft bimbo so I have to endure her for the rest of my life." He rambled. "And if you don't recall, I'm the one who gets an earful from it!"

He was right, as his best friend, it was quite his duty to listen to Alex's complaining and if he was to be with Madeline there was about the Seven Seas worth of complaints. Still, he felt hopeless. He was hopeless because no mater who they tried to convince his parents to arrange his marriage with, would be the same as Madeline, as he didn't love any of them. No matter how much he tried to deny it, a little piece of his heart already belonged to someone else.

"It doesn't matter because I'm into someone already." His voice was small, barely above a whisper. He knew that if he didn't tell Bas the truth, he would never stop grilling him about it. "And I can't be with her."

He saw his best friend stop his pacing, and slowly face him, his eyes hard but full of realization.

"You fancy her, don't you?" He said, his tone serious. "Bella."

Alex couldn't meet his eyes, he shrugged his broad shoulders, leaning into the bedpost.

"Fuck, Alex! You have royally fucked yourself up." Bas said what was already too clear, too obvious.

"Hey! what are you guys up to?" They were interrupted as Scorpius and Albus walked into the dormitory, talking animately about the upcoming Quidditch trials. They had no idea what they had walked into but, the tension could still be felt in the air. He saw Bas pick up the discarded letter and stuff it in his own pocket discreetly, preventing the other two boys from finding it.

"Nothing." Alex murmured, his had filled with the magnitude of his realizations, hoping for the first time in his life that he actually had nothing going on.


	4. Arabella

Chapter 4 - Arabella

Arabella knew he was sleeping around. It was no secret to her or the rest of the school, for that matter, but she couldn't help but feel her eyes narrow at the look some girls were giving him as he walked through the crowded Great Hall.

"Scorpius has been so odd lately." She heard Rose whisper, her eyes fixed on the three Slytherin boys making their way to their table for breakfast. "Cockier than usual, all mysterious." She continued, slowly grabbing her glass of Pumpkin juice and raising it to her mouth, her eyes never leaving the boys.

"Well, I would guess it was girls but Scorp is not the type to do that." Noelle said, more concerned about the look of her coffee than the conversation being held at the Ravenclaw table. "We all know that the slag of the group is Alex, even though he's so quiet about it."

Bella tightened her grip on her fork, wanting to stab the boy in the eyeballs for making her become interested in him.

Since the beginning of Summer, Bella and Alex were more or less, spending some time together, having bumped into him in Portugal, she got to spend quite an enjoyable time with him whilst on holiday. They hadn't done anything or said anything about the obvious attraction between them even though Bella thought that she was being quite clear about her interest in him. Still, the fact was that he had gotten under her skin with his nonchalant flirtation, his quiet and observant eyes, and she hated him for it.

Alex Nott was the most complex human being Bella had ever encountered, he possessed a control over his emotions that allowed him to conceal them very easily, making her feel in the dark about his intentions. She wasn't looking for anything serious, specially with him but, she couldn't help but wonder why he decided to start such a flirtatious dance and simply pretend nothing ever happened, pretend that they were still very good friends and that he completely forgot how strong the attraction between them was, both mentally and physically, and she knew he hadn't.

"Well, why don't you ask him what's wrong, Rose? You guys are friends, maybe you can help him" She said, finally looking down upon her plate, grabbing one piece of bacon.

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid, thinking that just because he's taller he'll change." She responded, her red hair bouncing as she shook the thoughts out.

"Maybe you just need to get laid, I bet all of your problems will disappear at once." Noelle giggled, her eyes holding mischief as she gulped her iced coffee down.

"Oh shut up! Is that all you can think about?" Bella exclaimed, giving Noelle a playful kick under the table. "You know that Rosie's ears are not ready for that."

She saw Rose's cheeks burn a vivid red as Noelle raised her hands in mocked surrender.

Bella's gaze focused on Alex again, sitting facing her, Albus' head blocking him from her view every time he moved. She wondered once more who he was sleeping around with and if he ever thought about her, if he ever wanted to worship her body as he did with some many other witches. Because she wanted him to, oh she wanted it badly.

* * *

The day passed by rather quickly, to Bella's surprise. She had quite interesting classes on Fridays and was rather disappointed that she would have to wait until Monday to continue working on her Potion, as it needed to rest. As she was walking away from the classroom, alone for once, as Rose and Noelle had left her packing to find a good seat at dinner, she heard someone calling her name.

"Hey! Bella! Wait up!" She turned around to meet the hazel eyes of Clay Macmillan, who looked flushed from running to catch up to her.

"Hello!" She said, smiling. She liked Clay, he was a very funny Gryffindor and very nice, even though they didn't know each other that well.

"How are you doing?" He smiled back, adjusting his backpack on one of his shoulders.

"Very good, thanks. You?"

"Great! Hm, can I walk with you?" He said, smiling shyly and mentioning for her to lead the way.

"Of course, I'm headed to the Great Hall for dinner." She completed, feeling quite confused as to why he was going out of his way to walk her to the Great Hall.

He nodded and kept walking with her at a comfortable pace, making small talk. They briefly talked about class and her passion for books and aspirations of becoming a Healer while he shared his love for Quidditch. They stopped a few steps away from the entrance and he faced her, giving her a cute smile.

"I know this might sound a little weird but, I think you're beautiful and very interesting. I want to get to know you better." He said, going straight to the point. "If you want to hangout, I'd love that. I'll give you some time to think about it then you can just let me know, how about that?" He said, his eyes calm and his tone even.

"Hm, wow. That's very direct." She managed to blurt out through the shock. He smiled at her once more and got closer, so close that she could see every eyelash around his hazel eyes.

"That's just how I roll, beautiful." He smirked, finally kissing her on the cheek and starting to walk away, in the direction of the Gryffindor tower. "I hope to see you around." He said looking back over his shoulder, leaving her stunned in place.

What an odd boy.

* * *

"So I just had the weirdest encounter ever in Potions." Bella said as she sat in between Scorpius and Noelle at the Ravenclaw table. It was a tradition to sit together at dinner so they usually switched between sitting in Slytherin and in Ravenclaw. Everyone had already taken their seats, since she was so late. They all looked at her in expectation, waiting for her to tell the rest of the story but, as she saw the girl sitting across from her, her smile gradually dropped.

Sitting by Alex with her hands wrapped around his arm like a vice was Madeline Flint, and Bella absolutely despised her.

"Hello, Arabella." Madeline gave her a cool smile that did not reach her eyes. She quickly glanced at Alex, who looked apologetic, since he knew how much they all disliked the girl.

"Madeline." She smiled back, trying to keep things civil between them. Bella couldn't understand what exactly Madeline was doing there, sitting at the Ravenclaw table, no less. She looked around and spotted her just as mean best friend, Anastasia Goyle at the Slytherin table, where Madeline should be.

"So, Bella, you were saying?" She heard Julius say from Noelle's other side, still interested in the conversation.

She glanced once more at the vapid girl in front of her and she grabbed Alex's tie and attempted to bite his ear. Things finally looked quite clear to her. They were together, she was the one Alex had been sleeping around with and she had finally convinced him to go public with her.

"Hm, well.. It wasn't that interesting." Bella continued, feeling foolish and embarrassed all of a sudden.

"Well, at least finish the story." Noelle said, her brown eyes impatient.

"Clay Macmillan asked me out." She said, her eyes glancing from the goblet in front of her to meet blue eyes staring deep into hers. The shock across his face was clear but she could only see and feel red, angry, confused, bitter. "And I said yes." She completed, her pride getting the best of her.

She throughly enjoyed the unsettled look on his face as he furrowed his light eyebrows and searched her face for a bluff. He found nothing.

"Macmillan? The Gryffindor Chaser?" Scorpius said, not looking pleased with her statement. "He's cocky and sleeps around, he's not good enough for you, Bella. Just like any Gryffindor really." He finished, glancing at their table with disdain.

"Well, sleeping around is not a Gryffindor exclusive trait, Scorp." Bella completed, her voice cold. "At least he treats me well and knows what he wants. He seems genuine." Her eyes never left Alex's, her words obviously aimed at him but, thankfully, the rest of the group missed it entirely.

Their intense stare was broken when Headmistress McGonagall announced that dinner was served, making all of the students dig into the delicious meal in front of them. The group chatted animately, everyone telling how their week went but, mostly complaining about the pile of homework they had to complete for the following week.

"I just don't understand why they insist on pilling so much work on us right at the beginning of term." Bas complained at the end of the table.

"At least you're not in Ravenclaw. We all have 'extra assignments' given by Professor Flitwick in order to 'better prepare' us for NEWTs next year." Noelle grumbled, stabbing her fork on some broccoli.

"It does prepare us! The extra work is what makes the actual exam easier." Rose responded, the Queen of all things homework.

Bella tuned them out as they argued the pros and cons of class work and homework. She couldn't stop thinking about how messed up her love life had become. It seemed like every time a boy showed interest it was never for anything serious, they always just wanted to 'hit it and quit it' as her Muggle friends from back home always said. She liked to pretend it was okay, it was all fine and she didn't care but, she did. Arabella was very realistic and knew that she was an intelligent, attractive, confident girl so, why did boys always prefer to try to get in her pants instead of getting to know her? Even Sabrina Higgs, one of Bella's Slytherin friends, was on her third boyfriend and she was quite an airhead. Maybe that was the reason, or maybe she just became friends with all the guys she could be interested in.

She glanced around the table to her friends and she knew that they were easily the most attractive guys in her year, if not the school. And they all treated her like one of them, not like a girl they would take out on a date and bring flowers. She was just Bella. Fun, outgoing, helpful, smart, friend. She was the one they came to when they wanted to take their girlfriends out, she was the one giving advice and matchmaking all of their friends together, ending up alone.

Of course, she had talked to quite a few guys, her first kiss was with a Muggle boy named Daniel and she barely knew him, which was great because it saved her from all of the post first kiss awkwardness. She had kissed two other boys that did not attend Hogwarts after Daniel but, they were also meaningless.

Then she and Julius had a 'thing'. She still felt quite bitter about how the whole thing ended but, they were friends now. They had kissed after a Quidditch game then at a party and again in a broom closet and the flirting and tension never stopped. She was sure he would ask her to the Memorial Ball but, he didn't, instead he went with Victoria Boot, a Hufflepuff. Needless to say, Bella found out that he was seeing both of them and when she refused to sleep with him, he made his choice. He had been sleeping with Victoria anyways so it was a very easy one.

Since then, she knew better than to trust that boys wanted something other than sex from her. But Alex lowered her walls like no other, she trusted him because he was a friend and when she realized, he had her crushing on him.

It's good that he's with Madeline now, she thought. At least it was early, at least she didn't fall for him. They could still be friends, after all, it was just one silly Summer.

"So, who's down for some tutoring tonight at the RofR?" Albus' voice startled her from her thoughts and she glanced at him, his green eyes suggestive.

Tutoring had been their code for drinking at the Room of Requirement, and they have been doing so since fourth year, when after a Slytherin Quidditch victory, Bas introduced them to his favorite alcoholic beverage, Firewhiskey. The boys had already tasted it, of course, it being a Pureblood tradition for a Father and a Son to share a glass on their Thirteenth Birthday, but, no one had quite gotten drunk on it before. It was a night to remember.

"Feeling like you're getting behind in Transfiguration, Potter?" Scorpius grinned, his white teeth showing and his tone teasing, playing along.

"Oh, terribly. And since it is a Friday, I do not want to hear any Ravenclaw homework excuses." He said, staring at Rose, who blushed knowing she was guilty of overusing that excuse.

"I'm down." She exclaimed, seeing Scorpius' grin widen. "And of course, Noelle and Rose are down as well."

Noelle looked up from her book on 'Stabilizing Auras' and pouted. Her eyes immediately went to Rose, seeking a back up.

"But I haven't finished my book! And Rose has homework! And you have writing to do!" She said, her tone pleading.

"Not tonight we don't. We need to take this chance, otherwise, we will be piled on work and we really won't able to let loose until term ends."

She knew she was right, the boys all nodded approvingly as Cassie and Sabrina agreed on going as well.

"Fine. We'll be there." Rose stated, her tone reluctant but her eyes excited. Yes, they were all a little nerdy and uptight but, one thing her friends knew how to do, and that was party.

* * *

A few hours later, Bella closed her eyes as she swayed with the sound playing in the wireless, she loved that song. She smiled, opening her eyes and seeing all of her friends dancing on the makeshift dance floor, too intoxicated to give a care in world. Even Rose was moving her hips with the beat right next to her, their damp hair sticking on each other due to the close proximity and heat.

"I'm so glad we came to this!" Rose screamed over the thumping bass of the music.

"You should trust me more often, you know I'm always right!" Bella exclaimed merrily as she spotted Albus and Bas coming towards them. They squeezed past the mess of bodies in the dance floor, finally reaching the two girls.

"Hi!" Rose giggled as Albus placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Rosie, Bella." Albus smiled at the two of them. "Rose, I think Lorcan was looking for you."

Bella saw Rose stop dancing immediately and glance around the dance floor, quickly spotting the twin Scamander boys by the bar, looking at them.

"Well, can't keep him waiting, can you Rose?" She smiled and shoved her friend in he direction of the two chatting boys. Rose looked absolutely terrified, her eyes wide while she held her cup tightly to her chest. "They're not gonna eat you alive, chug that drink and go."

Rose nodded, tipping the cup back and handing it to her friend as she waved them goodbye and walked away.

"What's up with that, Mami?" Bas said, pressing his lips by Bella's ear, using his silly nickname he had given her due to her Latin descent.

"I think Rose has a crush on Lorcan and I don't know how I should feel about it." Albus mumbled as he watched his cousin walk away with a disgusted look on his face.

"Oh, just cut it, she needs to live a little. She can handle herself, Al." Bella brushed his worries aside and started pulling them out of the crowded dance floor, going to a quieter area of the room. "By the way, I haven't seen Scorpius once. Where did he run off to?"

The glance exchanged between the two Slytherin boys told her everything she needed to know.

"Hm well.. Uh.." Albus stuttered, looking to Bas for a quick excuse to cover their friend's disappearance. "I think he went to get more Puff."

"Yeah, right. Because Scorpius loves smoking Puff, huh? If you had said Bas I would've believed it." She stated, thinking about how Bas was very fond of the drug, having spent some time smoking it recreationally in Italy with his cousins all Summer. "My guess is he's talking to some bimbo and Alex is being his wingman since I barely saw him around as well."

She squinted her eyes at the two of them and she knew she was absolutely correct. Alex was corrupting Scorpius by throwing him to some girls, since she knew that he and Albus were the only ones of the boys that still held on to their V-card. Obviously, Bas and Alex were trying to change that status.

"Well, I'll leave you boys to it. Be responsible and don't go for someone too terribly stupid, Al."

"You know I would never set him up with just anyone, Bella!" Bas said, looking falsely offended. "This is Albus Potter we are talking about, Quidditch extraordinaire, son of The Chosen One!"

She and Albus both rolled their eyes at their friend and she turned around laughing, it was time for a refill.

* * *

"Look who I finally ran into!" Bella heard a familiar voice behind her while she mixed her third drink, a healthy blend of firewhiskey and pumpkin juice.

"Oh, hey Clay! I didn't know you were coming."

He smiled at her, coming very close to her face, close enough that she could see his heavy lids and each lash around his eyes. He looked like he had been smoking Puff.

"Well, as soon as I knew you would be here, I couldn't help but make an appearance." She giggled. "You look really good, by the way. I like it."

"Why, thank you very much. So, you're enjoying the party?" She tried making small talk, which she was so very terrible at. She knew Clay fancied her, he had made no secret of it, in fact, he had basically asked her out earlier today.

They eventually moved to one of the sitting areas in the room, close to the fireplace, and sat on one of the plush couches, her facing the dance floor and him facing her and the crackling fire. He was a very funny and pleasant guy, she concluded. They chatted about his fondness of Muggle comic books and how his Grandparents - who were Muggles - had gotten him into Baseball as well, which in his opinion was so boring compared to Quidditch. She told him about her aspirations of being a Healer and how she was working very hard to get there and he showed admiration for her dedication. The conversation was going very well until her eyes decided to scan the room once more and she spotted the last person she wanted to see. Him. Leaning by one of the pillars across the room, looking as gorgeous as ever, was Alex, his piercing ice blue stare boring holes into her own eyes. She met his intense gaze and he didn't even have the decency to look embarrassed of being caught, he simply smiled shyly and held her gaze.

She could feel herself wanting to go to him and talk to him and maybe even run her hands through his defined forearms that happened to be exposed as he rolled the sleeves of his navy blue dress shirt, exposing his woven unicorn hair bracelet - his good luck charm. He raised one eyebrow at her, as if asking what she was doing and made a gesture for her to come to him, his family ring catching the light that blinked in the loud room.

She should stop this foolishness and go talk to him, he was her friend for Merlin's sake! It's not like she couldn't simply ask him what had happened and why he was associating with the likes of Madeline. There has to be a perfectly good reason for him to be doing so and in her drunk haze, she felt like it was her duty to find out and convince him that Madeline was not only the most vile girl she had ever met but, she was completely wrong for Alex.

Just as Bella was about to dismiss Clay and demand some answers from the handsome wizard across the room, the She-Devil herself appeared, clutching his arm and whispering in his ear. She was wearing such high-heels that she needed to brace herself in whatever surface she could find and she wasted no opportunity to throw her body against Alex's side, so he was forced to hold her in place. Bella felt the red hot ire consume her, heightened by the amount of alcohol she had ingested. She had felt so connected to him for that brief moment their eyes locked, everything seemed so simple and she even felt silly about worrying over the likes of Madeline. Now, they felt worlds apart, Alex holding the blonde model to his side - matching him so perfectly, as he stood looking like Adonis himself - while she sat here, all caramel skinned, plump lips and wide hips, so far from his reality.

Just as Bella looked away from him and met Clay's eyes, he looked way closer to her than he had been before she glanced away and, in a matter of seconds, his lips were pressed on hers. It wasn't a particularly unpleasant feeling, his lips were soft and as he grabbed both of her cheeks with his warm hands, she moved hers to his chest, surprised at how skinny he was, very different from Alex's lean built. It was over quickly, she didn't want to make a scene, they were in the middle of a party, but it was hardly a kiss full of passion, nothing to fuss over.

When she opened her eyes, she scanned the room for Alex again, wondering if he had seen Clay's unrequested display of affection. She looked everywhere but Alex was gone - as if he hadn't even been there to begin with.

"So, you want to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" Clay asked, his eyes full of excitement, a smile stamped on his face.

She bit her lip, thinking about it. She didn't want to go with him just because, he was a nice guy but he didn't make her feel butterflies. _Nothing like you feel when you're with Alex._ Her subconscious whispered, trying to taunt her. Well, she would never know if there was anything between them unless she tried, besides, Alex had made it very clear that he did not want to pursue anything with her besides friendship, he even dangled his new girlfriend in front of her to show that he wasn't interested. She needed to get herself together before she really ruined their friendship and Clay was kind and he really seemed to like her. She replied fast, afraid she would chicken out.

"Sure, Clay. I'll go."


End file.
